William E. Lewis, Jr. & Associates – (954) 337-1530

Massive Internet fraud shut down by FTC

The Federal Trade Commission has taken legal action against a far-reaching Internet enterprise that allegedly made millions of dollars by luring consumers into “trial” memberships for bogus government-grant and money-making schemes, then repeatedly charged them monthly fees for services they never agreed upon.

According to the FTC’s complaint, “I Works” utilized websites touting the availability of government grants to pay personal expenses or to pitch various money-making programs. The websites offered “free” information at no-risk with a small shipping and handling fee. When consumers provided their billing information, I Works charged them hefty one-time fees of up to $129.95 and monthly recurring fees of $59.95 for the grant or money-making programs.

As a result of the I Works scam, hundreds of thousands of consumers disputed charges on their debit or credit cards. The number of charge-backs was so excessive that millions of dollars in fines were assessed and the company was blocked from accounts maintained by VISA and Mastercard. To keep the scam going, I Works tricked banks into giving them continued charging privileges by creating 51 shell companies with figurehead officers, and by providing them with phony “clean” versions of their websites.

The FTC’s complaint alleges that I Works offered consumers bogus money-making and government-grant opportunities. I Works claimed that the offers were “free” or “risk-free” and that only a small shipping and handling fee would be charged.

The FTC charged I Works with violating federal law by misrepresenting government grants were available for paying personal expenses, that consumers were likely to obtain grants by using the I Works program, that users of their money-making products would earn substantial income, and that their offers were free or risk-free. The complaint also alleged that I Works failed to disclose to consumers who pay the small shipping and handling fee that they would be enrolled in expensive plans that charge fees until cancelled and for charging consumers’ credit cards and bank accounts without their permission.

In addition, the FTC alleged that I Works posted deceptive positive reviews and used deceptive testimonials that misrepresented the benefits of their grant services. Finally, the FTC charged I Works with violating the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and Regulation E by debiting consumers’ bank accounts without their signed written consent and without providing them with a copy of the written authorization.

William E. Lewis Jr. & Associates is a solutions based professional consulting firm specializing in the discriminating individual, business or governmental entity. To learn more, tune into “The Credit Report with Bill Lewis,” a daily forum for business and financial news, politics, economic trends, and cutting edge issues on AM 1470 WWNN.